I have a hard time walking past a bookstore.
And I have a hard time walking past a plant nursery.
I like plants. And flowers. My yard will never be big enough for all the different flowers that I would like to plant. Last year we acquired a couple of exotic plants. (I call them exotic only because I am not from here. They are actually native to Thailand.) Both of these plants are in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). I have to admit I have a special fondness for plants in this family.
Lotus ginger (Curcuma alismatifolia) is typically grown as an ornamental. Several of its close relatives are grown as herbs, mostly unknown outside of SE Asia, except for tumeric (Curcuma longa). We first encountered this plant at a flower garden in Chiang Mai back in 2011. But there are places in Isaan where there are large fields of lotus ginger that bloom at this time of year.
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| Lotus ginger - Curcuma alismatifolia |
The other plant we acquired is Globba winitii (I don't know of any English name for this plant.)
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| Globba wingtip |
There are several species of Globba that grow in Thailand, usually as forest understory plants. Some species are fairly common. Most species do not have the pink (or white) bracts like the one in the picture above.
The problem with many plants in the ginger family is that, come dry season, they die.
Well they don't really die, but it seems like it. The blooms fall off and the leaves dry up and all that is left is a pot full of potting soil.
I had never grown these species before, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I tried not to give up. Do I water the "empty" pot or leave it alone? I figured that the plants are adapted to dry season, so I left them alone. I only had to remember which of my empty pots weren't really empty.
Finally, my patience was rewarded. Little green shoots started breaking through the brown soil. The lotus ginger wasted no time in sending up a flower shoot. (I'm still waiting for the Globba to flower.). The bloom is even richer in color than last year.
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| Lotus ginger - year 2 |
At any rate, I am very happy. That which was dead has come back to life.
So it is with us who believe. One day, if Jesus tarries, these bodies of ours will die. That which was once alive will be placed in the ground. To human eyes, this patch of ground where the body is placed may appear lifeless. But one day, that which was planted will come to life again. It will come back to life even better than it was before.
As Paul writes:
But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. - 1 Corinthians 15:23 (NLT)
We look forward to that day when we will bloom again with new life after Christ returns.
